Need Urgent Medical Care? Avoid the ER Wait This Season
Need Urgent Medical Care? Avoid the ER Wait This Season
SWFL Walk-In Clinics, Telehealth Can Handle Many Urgent Injuries and Illnesses Without ER Wait, Cost
(Fort Myers, Fla. Jan. 29, 2020) Busy roads? Long lines at the supermarket? Parking impossible to find? It can only mean one thing: it’s season in Southwest Florida.
This seasonal influx of visitors also means an increase in the need for urgent medical care and it’s essential for everyone – residents and seasonal visitors – to know where to go for immediate, high-quality care.
Patients can seek treatment for most common ailments at an urgent care center without visiting the emergency room (ER). For minor injuries and nonlife-threatening illnesses, patients can avoid long waits and expensive hospital bills by instead visiting an urgent care center or opting for telehealth.
Urgent care centers provide easy access to skilled physicians and nurses for a wide range of non-emergency injuries or illnesses. Walk-in clinics are ideal for sprains, strains, rashes, cuts, cold and flu, vehicle and work-related injuries and sports physicals. Many locations also have X-ray capabilities for fractures and broken bones (not protruding through the skin).
Another option is telehealth. When it comes to minor sicknesses and injuries, telehealth services, like Lee TeleHealth, offer the luxury of no more waiting rooms, no more sitting in traffic, especially during season in Southwest Florida and the option to see a doctor on demand. Lee TeleHealth operates 24/7 and enables a patient to virtually visit with a board-certified physician or advanced provider from the comfort of their homes. Lee TeleHealth is available for the discounted rate of $29 throughout February. For information, visit: http://www.leehealth.org/telehealth/.
“Urgent care clinics and Lee TeleHealth are a great alternative to using the emergency department for nonlife-threatening medical issues – especially during season,” said Scott Kashman, Lee Health chief officer, hospital operations. “They are an easy option for people who don’t have a primary care physician and provide access to expert medical care at a much lower cost.”
Walk-in clinics and Lee TeleHealth are appropriate when:
- You have a nonlife-threatening medical issue.
- You’re unable to make an appointment with your primary care doctor.
- You don’t have a primary care physician.
- Need access to care outside normal business hours.
Many think the ER is the best place to go when they suffer a minor injury or come down with the flu, but there are often better options. ERs may have long wait times for nonlife-threatening conditions because doctors there “triage” patients, or treat the most critically ill patients first.
By knowing the best place to go for your medical care, you can get in and out of the doctor’s office faster while helping to keep ER wait times down for those with critical emergencies. If you have a life-threatening illness or injury, remember always to call 911 to seek immediate medical attention.
Lee Health offers four walk-in clinics. Convenient Care locations include:
- 16230 Summerlin Road, Fort Myers – 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily
- 4771 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers – 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily
- 13340 Metro Parkway, Fort Myers – 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily
- 1682 NE Pine Island Road, Cape Coral – 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily
Bonita Community Health Center, located at 3501 Health Center Blvd. in Bonita Springs is open 7 a.m. -7 p.m. Monday –Friday and 8 a.m. -4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Kids Urgent Care, located in the Golisano Health Center, 3361 Pine Ridge Road, Naples, is open from 11 a.m. –11 p.m. daily.
For more information, visit www.LeeHealth.org, or call 239-481-4111.
